Durangoan Christopher Blevins of Specialized Factory Racing on Friday won a second World Cup race, while competing in Snowshoe, West Virginia.
Last year, Blevins won the cross-country Olympic race in Snowshoe, which is the only U.S. race held on the World Cup circuit.
On Friday, Blevins made it to the top of the podium once again, this time by winning the short track race.
The competitors raced around the short track seven times, and only a few seconds separated the top three riders. Blevins, however, managed to win the race by 2 seconds in 21:53. Vlad Dascalu of Trek Factory Racing finished second (21:55), and Luca Braidot of Santa Cruz FSA finished third in 21:57.
The win follows Blevins’ national championship in short track Sunday in Winter Park. Blevins is the defending world champion in short track. The victory was his first this season in the Mercedes-Benz UCI World Cup circuit.
Fellow Durango rider, and recently crowned cross-country national champion Savilia Blunk raced in her first World Cup short track race Friday and finished ninth out of 31 riders in 22:00. Fellow U.S. rider Gwendalyn Gibson of the Norco factory Team, however, helped the USA sweep the titles by winning the race in 21:40. Anne Terpstra of Ghost Factory Racing finished second in 21:42, and Jenny Rissveds of Team 21 Ibis Cycles finished third (21:44).
Blunk finished second at nationals on the short track, behind Kate Courtney Scott-Sram. Courtney finished eighth on Friday.
Both Durangoans will race again on Sunday in the cross-country Olympic race.
